Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness-The Way it Should Have Been (beta)
by Addicted Raider
Summary: Not continuing with this one. If you would like to read beta angel of darkness, you will soon see a story with a title fairly similar to this one. Lara finds herself running from the past. Much of the events in the pyramid have escaped her mind, and at the same time, a cult named the Cabal are trying to breed nephilim across the Earth... Can Lara stop them? (Beta version)
1. Chapter 1: Prolouge

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Confrontation

An Egyptian God's Tomb. A lot has happened since then and I can't remember much but, here goes.

"Grab my hand child!" Von Croy had yelled, bending down and stretching out his hand to grab mine. "You back Werner?," I asked him frightfully. "No more Set?"

"No time. Quickly girl! Before it collapses around you!"

"Good to see you Werner."

"I couldn't leave you!" Then he leapt back, avoiding some rocks that fell down. I fell down too, as I was weak.

The last thing I remember then was a large blue light, an amulet, and a crumbling wall. I climbed out. I was nearly dying from heat and pressure. Suddenly a figure appeared in front of me. "Von Croy?" I questioned, but I wasn't sure. Was I hallucinating? I don't know. But what I do know is that I fainted soon after.

Next thing, I was in a bed in a hut. "Where am I?" I asked the Shaman putting a little hand washing cloth on my head. They were caring for me. I'm not a person to trust many people, but they were nice enough to not die by my pistols.

I soon became friends with this tribe. I decided to stay in the village. Some days later Von Croy visited. To him I looked like an alien. He said that the old me died in the pyramid. Suddenly I just couldn't stand him. I told him to go away and he gave me my backpack. I sat on my bed and looked at my dual pistols. I hated them. I buried them in the sand outside and hoped to never see them again. Von Croy was right. The old me died. I was a different person. I decided to go for a walk.

I sat at the entrance to the Temple of Horus and cried. When I came back to my village, it was deserted. I saw dead bodies everywhere. They were my people. I ran to my hut. With nowhere I grabbed my backpack and headed back to London.

When I reached Croft Manor, Winston greeted me with great pleasure. I merely pushed him out of the way, and headed up to my room. Winston came up to my room, and sat down on my bed.


	2. Chapter 2:What came over me?

I climbed into my blankets and went to sleep. Winston soon left, and I sat up again. I stayed awake all night. When Winston went to bed, I suddenly felt the urge to go to the kitchen. I headed down there and turned the light on. I don't know what got into me. I searched all the cupboards, the fridge, and the freezer. "I need it." I demanded. I headed outside, to the liquor store. Closed. I smashed the window open, and grabbed three bottles. Then I went back to Croft Manor, and drank them all.

The next morning, Winston had turned on the TV. All I could hear on all the channels was, 'Liquor store broken into!'

I didn't want to tell Winston what I'd done, so I went back up to my room. Winston came up with me and said "You know I really am happy to see you." I put my face in my hands.

"Just go Winston. Out of the house." I knew what I was going to do next, and I didn't want to hurt him.

"But, my lady-"

"Now! Go! Just leave!" I yelled. Winston exited my room, and soon I heard the door shut. I couldn't control myself anymore. I lit a candle and threw it on the floor. The fire ran across the floor and up the curtains. I ran out of the house and stared at the front. My beautiful home, about to be demolished by fire, and it was my entire fault. I pressed the button and the large gate opened. I exited before the fire got too close.

I'd caught a flight after a call from Von Croy. He was the last person I wanted to see but still I flew to Paris. I caught a bus from the Parisian airport to the Rue Valise building. I walked miserably up the stairs and knocked on Von Croy's door. He opened the door, invited me in and sat down.

"What's all this about Werner?" I demanded, still treating him like a bad smell.

"Help me Lara, I need you to get something for me."

"Go on."

"I'm tracking five obscura paintings for a client called Eckhardt. But he's a psychopath." Von Croy sounded somewhat afraid.

"Not my problem! You took the commission and now you're out of your depth. Why should I care?"

"Because I'm being stalked! I daren't go into the streets. People are dying out there!"

"Handle it Werner. I had to when you abandoned me in the tombs." I countered.

"Lara please. Go and see this woman. Carvier. She can help."

"Sort out your own mess. I'm going."

"No wait!"

"Egypt Werner. You walked away and left me. There was no pity then."

"Get out!" I don't know if he was aiming at me, but Von Croy shot three bullets. He missed, but before I could look at him\I was knocked up against the wall. I was knocked out, and when I woke up I saw Werner on the ground; dead. I crouched down and lifted up his head, and kissed him on the cheek. "Goodbye Werner." I whispered mournfully. Lightning struck, and I decided to leave. At that moment police busted in, searching for the serial killer I heard about: The Monstrum. They were shining their torches everywhere, and to avoid the light, I hid behind the spiral stairs next to the kitchen. A couple of them were approaching the kitchen. I was ready. Ready to sprint as fast as I could to the door. I approached one of the policemen, and performed a stealth takedown. Then I sprinted across the room as one of the guards yelled "Possible suspect has escaped the building! Call for backup!"


	3. Chapter 3:The Backstreets

I ran down the dark alleyway and stopped when a car drove up. Police. Of Course. More policemen were sprinting up behind me. The car turned around and two back doors opened, revealing two dogs and two police officers. I ran over to the door on my left, and busted it in. I peeked inside. The coast was clear. I sprinted up the stairs in the middle of the room, followed by the guard dogs. I reached a long hallway. Both sides led to a window. I took the right path, and stopped at the window. I spun around, and jumped at the fact that the dogs were right on my tail. "This is going hurt!" I yelled. The dogs jumped at me, one ripping the straps on my backpack, and the other, sending me out the window. A conveniently placed dumpster broke my fall, and I landed on a bag. I climbed out, and glanced at the dogs. It had my backpack. "Damnit!" I said to it. I ran through the passageways through the doors, and vaulted over a stairway. I looked around. This looked like a safe area, but I needed to find a way out. A dog that was chained up against a wall sat on my right, and it immediately started barking when it saw me. A door further over with some bars on it looked like a way to go. But as I got closer a policeman came out. A quickly stepped back as he opened the door. I ran backwards to a bin that I climbed into and hid in. I couldn't see anything, just hearing footsteps.

The sounds went away soon after. I climbed on top of the bin and jumped up onto a catwalk. I remembered I'd had an amulet. "The Amulet of Power." I remembered. I grabbed it out of my pocket and examined it. It was a scarab with blue legs that stretched out, a bronze body with patterns on it, blue antennae and a red jewel in the middle. I put it back in my pocket, and pulled out a piece of paper. It was the one Werner had given me. On it, it said

_Mme Carvier_

_105 Rue Alphonse_

Bloodstains covered it. The rest was just mail that wasn't worth reading. Ahead of me was a ladder, and a door. "Hmm…shall I go straight on or climb the ladder?" I thought aloud. My thoughts were to climb the ladder. I climbed the ladder and reached a window and an air conditioning unit. "I'll see what's in here first." I said. I climbed into the window, and searched everything. Not much. Just some doubloons. I climbed back out and vaulted onto the air conditioner unit. I jumped up and grabbed another cat walk, where there was a long jump to a canopy. "This will be hard. But I can make it. I did a running jump to the canopy and I landed on my knees. I scraped them, but I didn't care at that moment. I continued across a wooden board and climbed up a pipe. I made it up to a platform, where there was a shed with a tap, a water tank, and a few barrels. I moved one barrel to get to a crowbar. I opened the shed, and grabbed an M-V9 from the cupboard inside. I exited the shed and climbed down back onto the ledge. This ledge was going to be a challenge. I jumped up and shimmied across. I stopped in the middle because my hands were getting sweaty. Suddenly my hand slipped off and I fell down onto a canopy. "Phew! That was close." I wiped my hand across my forehead. I jumped off the canopy, and headed towards the orange door. "Damnit! I'm not strong enough!" I ran down the stairs that spiralled down to a shop. Across the alleyway, there was some stairs and a passageway that led somewhere else.

"Suspect spotted!"

"Oh no…" I ran off in search of a place to hide.

"Perfect!" I ran up some steps and quickly unbarred the locked door. I ran and ducked behind a wall.

"This could be a useful hideout. I can stay out of sight for a while." I whispered. Behind the wall, two police guards were talking in French. I threw a stone to distract them, as I stealthily made my way to a door.

"Elle est la!" They said, as one came out, and arrested me.


	4. Chapter 4: Still Running

"Ugh…Where…am…I?" I asked rhetorically. I sat up slowly, and looked around. Bars covered the doors, and firm, grey walls surrounded me. One of the walls on the outside said

'Cellule de sécurité élevé 3'

It translated as

' High Security Cell 3'

Great. A high security cell. There had to be some way out. There's always a way out. I touched every brick, I tried pulling off the bars until

"Aha!" A part of the wall pushed back so I could find a passageway. An electric flex lay on the floor, so I picked it up.

"You are learning well Lara. Each challenge makes you stronger."

"What the-" Then I pulled out my amulet. I got a random flashback of what happened in the tomb. A blue light, a figure of a woman, and a breaking wall.

"Putai!" Putai was the one who'd helped me out of the tomb. Putai was the one that gave me this amulet! But that didn't matter right now.

I grabbed the electric flex and used it on the lock. The door opened and I peeked outside. No one. I sneaked into one of the police offices and grabbed a police radio. "Great! Now I can use this to hear where the police are!" I thought. I ran through the passageway in the wall I kicked over. It led me outside. On the police radio, it said

"Suspect escaped. Suspect is loose."

At the apartment block, the police had placed a gate at the top of the spiralling stairs. I used the electric flex again. The gate flew open, and I kicked open the apartment door. Behind the gate, I saw a police car.

"A spy! Now that's not very nice!" I said. I could barely see through the tinted windows, but I made out an officer picking up a walkie-talkie. I could pick up what he was saying through the radio, and he said

"Suspect has escaped. Call in air support!"

I ran inside, and the door shut behind me. I pulled a wardrobe in front. I could soon hear propellers, and soon policemen were banging on the door, trying to get in. I took off my sunglasses, and had a look around.

"Suspect has entered the building! Cover the back! Take the front door!" I ran up the stairs, and hid in front of the elevator on the first floor. They soon busted in, two of them stayed at the door, whilst one of them came upstairs. I ran out and beat the crap out of the first one, and kept running upstairs, looking for something to arm me. The other two threw a tear gas grenade each, and said

"Suspect on second floor. First floor clear."

I came to a halt as there were some wooden boards with a rock up higher, looking unstable. I sidestepped across half of the board, and looked up. Suddenly, the rock fell!

"Oh crap!" I jumped across to the other side. The boards fell back to the first floor.

"Phew!" I opened up an orange door, and opened some cupboards. One of them contained pills, while the other contained

"Yes! A gun." A Vector R-35. I continued upstairs, and looked up. Some railing, and a box.

"Hmm…" I pulled the box to jump over to the railing. I pulled up, and vaulted over it. I busted in the fourth floor door, and it soon filled with tear gas. I picked up a key, and opened the door to get to the rooftops.


	5. Chapter 5: A Long Conversation

Hey guys. Sorry for the wait. So to make up for it I have decided to do two chapters in one day! Hope you enjoy! 

It was raining, as usual. I climbed a ladder to more misery, because as soon as I jumped up to a wire, the police radio was making sound in my pocket.

"Call for air support!"

Oh no. Helicopter. Could it get any worse? I guess so. I dropped down onto a platform that I could either fall to my death or slide into despair. Hmm… Which one? A helicopter soon came into view. I slid down and hit the glass. It broke and I started bleeding. On the floor was another Vector R-35. Dual pistols… did I want to use them? They would give me bad memories but also good ones and lots of firepower. I made the decision. I grabbed the other one and holstered them both. I felt good. I opened the red door and descended a ladder. A barrel was on fire. That made me remember me destroying my home. Where was Winston? Was he okay? A blast interrupted my thoughts. It made the fence catch fire. I vaulted over a fence, and killed a Doberman. I was met with a dumpster with a large pipe going up. "What was that address?" I pulled out the piece of paper.

_105 Rue Alphonse_

I continued across the streets, as the helicopter couldn't find me.

I pressed a button on Mme Carvier's door.

"Who is it?" Came a voice from the speaker.

"Mademoiselle Carvier. It's Lara Croft. I need your help." Carvier opened the door. She had green studs in her ears and was wearing a brown coat and a blue long sleeve shirt under it. "Ms. Croft, I recognise you from photos and Werner's description. Come in."

"Thankyou." She walked me inside, and we stood by the fireplace.

"An evil night to be out alone Miss Croft our streets are not safe anymore."

"Mademoiselle Carvier I have just come from Werner's apartment."

"And how is Werner?"

"I'm afraid Werner…is dead."

"Dead?!"

"Yes and I don't have time to waste. I'm being chased all over Paris." I stated, trying to move it along.

"How was Werner killed?! What happened!?"

"It's all a bit vague. I arrived at his apartment today from London. He was babbling with fear." I explained.

"He said he'd tried to contact you."

"He did. I never expected that. Not after Egypt."

"Werner has been fearful his life. He accepted a commission five weeks ago. Since then he's been…acting strangely jumping at shadows. He even left a package here for safekeeping."

"Package?"

"His notebook. Addressed to you."

"Who was the commission from?" I asked.

"The clients name was Eckhardt. He wanted Werner to research something called the Obscura Paintings. Werner approached me at my department at the Louvre."

"Obscura Paintings?"

"Five fifteenth century images. Thought to be linked to alchemy and the dark arts."

"Were you able to help him?"

"A little I think. Poor Werner was clearly terrified!"

"Werner didn't scare easily."

"He felt he was being stalked."  
"He could well have been. The Monstrum is running around Paris. According to the Press. You mentioned Werner's notebook earlier Mademoiselle?" I said.

"His field notebook. I was to give it to you if… anything happened to him."

"If he left his notebook, he _was_ spooked."

"You still haven't explained what happened."

I didn't want to tell much to a stranger. "There was gunfire. That's all I can recall."

"Gunfire! Werner was shot! Did you kill him?"

"I can't remember. It's all a blur."

"Ms Croft, I strongly suggest that you talk to the police."

"I'm not going to waste any more time here! Do you have the notebook?"

"Yes. It's safe for the moment."

"Then I suggest you give it to me, now!"

"Somebody killed Werner. You say you don't remember clearly what happened. Perhaps the police are right in suspecting you."

"I never killed Werner!"

"I think you better leave Miss Croft!"

"What about the notebook?"

"I think not. Werner was unsure of you and so am _I_." Carvier started walking towards the door.

"Mademoiselle! What are you doing!?"

"I called the police. They should be here any minute!" She shut the door. I ran into the kitchen and searched all the drawers. Of course it was the last one I pick. Just my luck. I ran out to the white door in the hallway. I busted through it just as the police got into the apartment. I jumped out the window, and ran off away from the apartment.


	6. Chapter 6: Streets

Somehow I had made it into a world of clouds. A voice lingered through it, but I couldn't understand it. "Where am I?" I asked the strange world I was in. Everything was white.

"Quickly girl…" I spun around.

"Von Croy?" I questioned.

"I couldn't leave you…"

"Where are you? Where am I?"

"Sanctum of the Ancients…"

"What? I can't hear you!"

"Cambodia…" Suddenly Von Croy appeared in the distance. I ran out to him. He disappeared as some rocks fell down.

"AHHHHHHH!" I was falling, falling forever. The clouds in the sky faded, as darkness surrounded me.

"You have unique strengths Lara. Learn to use them." Putai's voice came.

"But how will I remember Putai?"

"Whenever your needs are strong, remember the amulet." She said.

"But…but the past still troubles me…" I turned my head sideways, as I landed on ashes. Ashes of my home…

"You will learn…"

"Ugh…ah." I sat up in the bus that I'd made my way to the night before. I checked my watch. The time was 6:00 a.m. I stepped outside. I went to talk to some homeless people when I saw a light.

"Damnit! More police!" I whispered. He turned around, I tackled him to the ground, and shot him.

"What did Werner get himself into? Maybe his notebook will help." I flicked through Werner's notebook, and stopped at a page that said

'Bouchard- useful contact. Purchased handgun – discretion assured.'

I ignored the homeless, and climbed on top of the bus. I jumped up onto a pipe, and made my way into the streets. A prostitute stood next to me, smoking a cigarette.

"Not a lot of passing trade at this hour?" I asked her.

"It's early yet. Move along Ma cher. You make the place look crowded."

"I wouldn't worry. We're not in the same class." I countered.

"That attitude won't get you far round here sweet thing."

"I just want to find someone. Name of Bouchard."

"You won't find him here Ma cher. He did run the club across the road, but had to move premises. There was a lot of trouble I heard. "

"Oh. I'm trying to track down a friend's movements."

"Lost is he?"

"Dead. But he made contact with Bouchard before he…checked out."

"Tell you what. There's two guys who used to work at Le Serpent Rouge. Pierre, the barman who works at Café Metro. Bernard, the miserable old devil cleaner, who hangs around in the park sometimes."

"Thanks. I didn't catch your name."

"Janice. Everyone knows me around here." I walked off. "I'll need some cash. " I thought.

A newspaper seller was sitting at a fence. I walked over, and talked to him.

"Do you know someone called Bouchard?" I asked  
** "**I've been on this spot for five years. I know everyone."  
**"**Do you know how he can be contacted?"  
"Directly? No. And I hope I never have to."  
"To save time how could I avoid having to talk to every inhabitant in this side of the river?"  
"Without the right connections – my guess, no one would talk to you. And a lot depends on how you ask your questions, not who you ask."  
"I've found that already. Well, let's say I offered to 'buy' something from someone…"  
**"**They might remember something helpful. But what do I know. I only sell papers and magazines M'moiselle."  
**"**Do you have any foreign newspapers? The London Times?"  
"As chance would have it I do." I pulled out some cash I'd picked up on the streets, and gave it to me. He gave me The London Times, and I read it.

'**NEWSFLASH** - The Monstrum has struck again. This time the victim was a professor Margot Carvier of the department of Medieval and Renaissance Studies at the Louvre. Her body was discovered yesterday and police want to interview a woman seen leaving the premises around the time of the murder. She is described as Caucasian, brunette, about 1.8m and slim build. When last seen she was wearing jeans, dark jacket and a pony tail. This follows the similar murder of Prof Werner Von Croy a world renowned archaeologist murdered two days ago in his apartment…'

Carvier! Great, I'm now known as a murderer in England as well! Perfect! I put the newspaper in the bin. Someone ran past, and I stopped them.

"Does Louis Bouchard live round here?" I asked them.

"Stop hasslin' me!" He ran off.

I entered Café Metro and glanced at the corner. Someone sat there.

"Have you met someone called Bouchard?"

"I'm a stranger round here."

"Ok. Thanks anyway." I walked over to Pierre and talked to him. He gave me a key to the Serpent Rouge Night Club and asked me to claim his trinket box. I exited Café Metro, and was confronted by Police. I jumped into a manhole.

Okay. Sorry about Pierre not speaking. It's just I was bored of making them speak and it would take up too much room. Hope you enjoyed! Oh by the way, next chapter will have Kurtis speaking as well.


	7. Chapter 7:Let's Dance

Kurtis

Hmm… a trinket box…

I work for a man named Gunderson. My latest mission from him was to swap the contents of this box to make this woman fail to meet Bouchard. Hmm…clever, but would it work? I didn't know then. I got out of my seat in Café Metro, and Pierre waved to me, but I just ignored him.

I forced open the door to Le Serpent Rouge backstage. The place hadn't been cleaned for weeks. Bloodstains covered the floor, dirt covered the walls. No police. Making my job easy. I opened up a sliding door, and walked into the 'disco' room. I didn't turn the music on, because it would attract police. Looking up, my goal was most probably to get to the top. I climbed the stairs to a large light lift. I jumped to it and double jumped to the railing. Looking at the light rotator, I needed to rotate the lights to get the trinket box. Up ahead were the controls for the lights.

Inside, there was a switch to turn the lights on, and multiple switches to move the party lights. I pulled the switch. A screen on the circuit board showed that one of the lights was broken. I spun the lights around so the box was on the shelf inside the light on the platform. I climbed up a ladder and opened the cupboard. I opened up the box and swapped the solid gold watch inside it with some money I'd found on the ground. I grabbed my phone out and called Gunderson.

"Gunderson, I've got the box. Now let me go!"

"Ha ha ha. Not sure about that. I could have more use for you."

"No. You won't. Because the next time I see you, I swear I'm gonna-" I was cut off by Gunderson.

"Alright, fine. But Eckhardt won't be happy." Gunderson replied coldly.

"Eckhardt! You work for him! Oh you are so going to-" I was cut off yet again by some beeping, resembling that Gunderson had hung up.

Lara

I climbed out of the tunnels, hoping that there weren't any police around. I was right; thank goodness. I continued to Le Serpent Rouge, where the man that I'd met in Café Metro came out of the backstage entrance. What was he doing there? He got onto his motorcycle, performed burnouts, followed by speeding off into the distance. I realized now that it was late at night, meaning police were going to start coming out. I opened up the door to Le Serpent Rouge and walked in. The wind picked up and closed the door behind me. A policeman was in the hall room up ahead, and the switch to turn the lights off was next to me. I had an idea.

I stealthily walked over to the light switch, and turned them off. The policeman was coming. Phase 2 of my plan was to go into the room in front of me so the guard couldn't see me. He came over to turn the lights on, so I performed a stealth takedown. I made it into the room where he was guarding. It held a key and a Desert Ranger.

The disco room was very tall, so I guess, with my luck, that I had to climb it. But first, to get the lights moving, I had to turn on the hugely loud, police-attracting pop music! Woo-hoo! I went to the DJ booth and turned on the music, and, before I knew it, policemen were coming out from all doors. I pulled out my pistols, and killed them all. (I know, I know. Stupid thing to do. Killing people to prove myself from killing someone. Whatever.) I ran up the stairs and timed my jump to the elevating light platform. I jumped to the railing and vaulted over it. The control stall was up ahead, and a ladder went up to a cupboard, supposedly where I was meant to pick up the trinket box. I switched the lights around to get the trinket box. I picked it up, and wondered what was inside it. I exited through the rooftop entrance, and hoped that this was what Pierre wanted.

I decided to see what was inside Willowtree Herbalist. The owner there was nice, and he said I could buy all sorts of different medication herbs. I purchased Aloe Vera, astragalus and lots of barberry.

"Did you- Everything go okay?" Pierre asked.

"It's quiet in here. Your voice really carries." In stated in a sarcastic tone, but it was true. Aside from the Parisian music in the background, Pierre's voice bounced off all the walls.

"Don't mess me about."

"You were right about the place being staked out. There were police guards everywhere. No sign of the Monstrum though."

"You got it!" Pierre yelled.

"Now, a little matter of Bouchard's whereabouts." I said before Pierre could grab the box.

"Bouchard…yes…er…"

"You're not going to disappoint me are you? I don't think you want to see my dangerous side."

"No. It's just that someone else was asking for him just after you left."

"Asking for Bouchard?" I questioned, wondering why someone else would ask for him.

"Yes. The customer that was sitting in the corner, reading his paper. Naturally, I didn't tell him anything. But he may have overheard us."

"You know, you talk real loud," I raised my voice. "It's hard not to notice it."

"OK. OK. Take it easy. Are we going to deal?"

"Only if you behave…"

"Alright. Bouchard is lying low. But I do know someone who can show you where."

"You can trust them, this person you know?"

"Just about. Her name's Francine. She's my ex."

"Reassuring."

"This is her address and the code for the gate." Pierre gave me a small piece of paper.

"And she can point me to Bouchard? You're sure?"

"Oh, absolutely. She knows a discrete route to Bouchard's hideout."

"Discrete? Translation- dangerous."

"Nothing in Paris is safe. But this will get you where you need to go. Please." Pierre picked up the phone. He arranged for me to visit with Francine, and came back.

"It's arranged. She's expecting you."

"I hope this arrangement works out Pierre. I'd hate for you to be a personal problem that I'd have to come back and tidy up." With that, I walked out the door of Café Metro.


	8. Chapter 8: I Found Him!

Lara

"1, 5, 3, 2, 8." I said, as I entered the code for Francine's apartment. There was a small beep, meaning that I had entered the code correctly. The door flew open, revealing a small garage with a red truck. I walked up the stairs to Francine's door. I opened it, and walked to a woman, presumably Francine.

"Bouchard is in the old church. You need to find the mausoleum in the church yard. It leads down to the church basement."

"Is this the best way?" I asked her.

"It's the only way past the doorman. Watch out for the ledges. They are dangerous."

"Where isn't these days?" I asked rhetorically.

"Welcome to Paris." She replied. With that, I headed out the door to St. Aicard's Church. It was really high up. There were ledges _everywhere_.

I climbed up a large pipe leading to the guttering. I jumped to them from the pipe, and they started breaking. Just my luck, as usual. I jumped to another pipe, and slid down to yet another ledge. I climbed across a rope to a platform. I dropped to a roof, and climbed down to the ground. I knew there were police dogs around so I climbed up to another roof. I jumped to another roof and then another, and another, and another-

I busted open a door to gain my strength. Then I pushed over an angel statue. It cracked open the coffin lid and I jumped in.

A sewer- really? Rats, disgusting water- what could something (other than a rat) like in here? The place was _disgusting._ I have no other word for it. Debris and muck – that was all it was. Couldn't Bouchard pick a different hideout, other than a sewer? The place was brick, mostly. Debris covered the passageway I needed to get to so I had to find a way around it. I pulled it out of the way and kicked in a vent. I climbed through it, and reached another room. I busted through the door and reached another passageway with platforms ready to fall.

"OK. I'm ready." I told myself. Then I ran through the platforms into another room. This one was reasonably clean. I opened a cage door. It led to another passageway. One side had two bodyguards. That's the way I was going. Inside another room a sick man with legs made of what looked like grey matter. Looked like works of the Monstrum. I was about to open the door when the two bodyguards put my arms behind my back and pushed me into the same room as Bouchard.

"Found an intruder Bouchard. Says she needs to see you."

"Tell her I'm busy and throw her out." I stepped in.

"What happened to the man in the room out there Bouchard?" I asked.

"To Arnaud? You've got something to say about that?" Bouchard replied angrily.

"Maybe. It might be linked to what happened to a friend of mine."

"I doubt it. Get her out of here." Bouchard told his guards.

"Do you know the name Eckhardt?" I asked.

"Never heard of him."

"OK. You helped a friend of mine a while back. Werner Von Croy."

"Names don't mean a lot here. Even real ones. What did he want?"

"Maps and information, on the Louvre."

"I remember. Four weeks ago. Wanted to take a coach load of Japanese tourists to see the Mona Lisa."

"Easy Bouchard. I lost that friend yesterday. Now I'm wanted for his murder."

"There was a newscast about a Monstrum killing earlier," Bouchard suspiciously questioned me. "What would you know about that?"

"Nothing that would interest you." I eyed him off cautiously.

"You'd be surprised how much the Monstrum interests me." Bouchard replied smugly.

"My friend…? The Louvre…?"

"Yes, the academic. He wanted access to recent archaeological diggings inside the Louvre. I gave him a contact. You want the same?"

"And more. I need 9mm protection, backpack, plastic explosive, stun packs. Paris isn't safe these days."

"Who for? You obviously can take care of yourself."

"Do you have what I need?" I asked, ignoring his question.

"I know who does. Daniel Rennes; works out of the pawnbrokers on the corner of the Rue St. Mark, and Cours La Seine." Bouchard explained.

"What would you suggest?"

"A trade. I have to get certain things into his hands. Passports. You could deliver them for me."

"Why not have one of your men deliver your…passports?" I responded lazily.

"I have no one to spare."

"What happened to your man in the sickroom back there? Was he delivering packages for you too?"

"Poor Arnaud. One of my toughest; the only survivor of four attacks so far." Bouchard shook his head.

"Attacks? By who?"

"An interesting question. We don't know for sure, yet."

"The Paris Monstrum perhaps." I suggested.

"We're looking into that. You should take care."

"An automatic would help. You sold my friend Von Croy some hardware. I need the same."

"That was then. We need all the firepower we can get. Rennes is your man. Is it a deal?"

"OK. Deal." I replied, shaking his hand. I pulled a lever, and it opened up the door next to me. I climbed the stairs, and opened up the passageway door to St. Aicard's Church.

Entering Rennes Pawnshop, a man came through the hallway.

"Step aside." He said. He was wearing a black coat and glasses with red spectacles. He pushed in front of me and exited through the door. The place was messed up! The desk was pushed over to one side, books and comics were everywhere, a chair sat broken in the corner, shelves fallen over and, the worst thing of them all, Daniel Rennes, lay dead on the floor, with a symbol of blood next to him. Daniel must've offered the Monstrum money, because his wallet sat next to him. I didn't want to act cold, but I picked up his wallet and searched it. In it was a small scrap of paper, holding the code to the safe up ahead.

"1, 4, 5, 2, 9" I said as I pressed in the numbers to the safe. The door slowly opened and it contained three shelves with weapons and maps.

"Werner obviously never had the chance to collect it." I said as I picked up the items. It was exactly what I needed. Plastic explosives, a dart gun, K2 impactor, poison darts, maps of the Louvre Storm Drains, maps of the Louvre, batteries for the K2 Impactor.

As I picked up the Louvre Storm Drains, the door behind me shut, and lasers turned on.

"Dammit!" I yelled. I pressed the button behind me, and it opened up the door. I heard beeping. I checked behind the bookshelf and saw that there was a bomb, with thirty seconds left until it exploded. I opened up a trapdoor in the ground, and jumped into a large pipe. I ran and swan dived out of it, and landed on a boat. The man I'd seen in Café Metro threw his cigarette, and it slowly tumbled into the water, and I realized what kind of powers he had.

Eckhardt

"Esteemed Cabal members, the hour of your reward grows ever closer. As you know we already possess three of the Obscura Paintings. Our contact Professor Von Croy has located the fourth one for us here, in Paris." I said, as I walked slowly around the circular tables. The Cabal is made up of five people; me; Pieter Van Eckhardt, JoachimKarel, Dr**. **GrantMuller, Kristina Boaz and Luther Rouzic.

"When we have this we will reassemble in Prague. It is time to awaken THE SLEEPER. Hopefully we will be more successful this time. We are also closer to the fifth and last Obscura painting in Prague. We will gather at the Strahov. Gunderson!" Gunderson came into the room.

"Master Eckhardt…"

"Dispatch your team for the fourth painting."

"Immediately!"

Lara

I got off the boat after I'd put my black shirt on. The place was a scrapyard; no literally, a car cemetery. A fence circled the place. The door to get to the other side was locked, so I had to find another way around. I checked the map. The entrance to the Louvre was past the fence amidst the cars.

I found a crane. An easy way to get rid of the cars. I moved the claw to pick up a bunch of cars, and it unblocked the entrance to the Storm Drains. I got off the crane, and slid down into the Drains.


End file.
